After a few minutes, we got there. Echo asked the driver to stop right in front of the bridge.
The Blue Way was insanely bright, all lit up with white, glowing lights. I liked it, but I had to quickly look away because my eyes started to hurt.
Echo walked over to a sewer hatch.
"Ready to go down?" she asked, grinning widely.
"We're going to walk through the sewers?! But my new shoes and clothes will get dirty!" I said shyly.
"But once we get down there, you can take Lumi's hoodie off and float above the surface, right? Besides, it's actually pretty clean down there – maybe even cleaner than above, heh."
"But before we get down there, he might still get dirty," Lumi said.
"That's where my genius plan comes in, hehe," Echo said, grinning. She pointed at Lumi with one finger. "You'll carry him until we get down there."
"A-actually, I-I don't want to take advantage of him like that…" I muttered shyly.
"As long as Lumi's okay with it, it should be fine, right?" she said, then laughed.
Lumi came up to me and said:
"Don't worry, I'll be gentle."
Maybe it was just me, but he was blushing. I felt his strong arm under my shoulders and the other under my knees. I looked him in the eyes and instantly turned bright red, hiding my face in my hands.
"P-please, let's just get this over with," I whispered.
"You don't like it?" Lumi asked, sounding surprised.
Did I hear a hint of disappointment in his voice? No, I didn't want him to feel that way.
"I-I do… b-but it's a little embarrassing," I muttered shyly.
"Awww, look at my knight, and your princess blushing so cutely in your arms!" Echo joked. "Alright, ready to jump?" She swung her guitar over her shoulder and plucked a short, sharp note. Small purple clouds appeared around her and Lumi's shoes. "Yupppieeee!" she yelled, jumping straight into the sewer hatch.
We heard a thud after a moment – that probably meant Echo had landed. Lumi, looking worried, ran to the manhole.
"Are you okay?" he called.
"Yeees! My power softened the fall. Don't worry, jump – just not on your head, hehe!" Echo replied.
"Well then," Lumi sighed. "Hold on tight, Asael."
"H-huh?!" I could only let out a gasp.
Lumi held me in his arms, and his face was so close that I felt my face heat up from embarrassment. I didn't even notice when we reached the sewers, I was too focused on the fact that Lumi… was holding me in his strong hands.
I felt even smaller and more delicate than usual being so close to him, but it felt so good… more fragile than I usually do, and at the same time – protected, just by him being next to me.
When Lumi landed beside Echo, I could finally look around the sewers. They were pretty spacious, with high ceilings and greenish walls.
We were lucky – we landed on a sidewalk, right next to a flowing stream… of clean water.
It was strange, almost like someone had built a whole separate city and park down here.
"I expected it to be much worse," Lumi said, stunned.
"No way. The insectoids started building their home down here—or rather, the ones who joined the organization I'm in."
"And they managed to get this far so fast?" I asked, surprised.
"Apparently, they've already gathered a few ant-hills. As you know, ant-people are famous for being organized and working fast. Too bad they can't use those advantages in daily life… Anyway, let's go! I'll lead."
"Sure," Lumi replied.
We walked on. I don't think he realized he forgot to put me down.
"L-Lumi," I stammered shyly, looking at him. "I-isn't it heavy?"
"Huh? Oh, sorry. You're so light I forgot I was carrying you," he said, laughing.
"Admit it, you like it too," Echo said, walking ahead of us, then laughing.
This time, Lumi blushed, and my heart started racing.
D-does he… no, we don't know each other that well. He couldn't be falling for me, even though I…
Well, even if he did, no sane human would want a relationship with an insectoid anyway.
After a while, Lumi set me down on the floor.
"Take off your cover, Asael. Here you can be yourself," Echo said, turning for a moment and smiling at us.
Ah, I almost forgot.
We took a short break. I took off my hat, hoodie, and glasses. Echo tucked them into one of the side pockets of her guitar case.
I looked around nervously – there was no one else here but us.
I couldn't believe I could just… be myself. That no one would jump out at me or try to hurt me.
I felt so wonderful, even with the leftover fear from my past experiences, because I had Lumi and Echo with me.
That was enough to make me feel more confident.
We turned right, then walked straight for a few meters, then took a few winding paths, until we finally stood in front of a round entrance to what looked like a separate room. Above it was a sign: "Under the Butterfly Wing."
"This is it," she smiled. "My treat."
We entered a small room. The walls and floor were covered in white square tiles. Inside, six round wooden tables were set up, each with four chairs. At the back wall was a black counter, behind which was a shelf of alcohol, and a half-fly man in a white shirt, red blazer, and beige suit pants stood behind it. Next to the counter was a staff passage.
The place was empty.
"What can I get you?" he said, approaching our table. "Oh, Echo. Sorry, I didn't notice you."
"You know what. With double potted leaves."
"Of course, coming right up," he said, bowing slightly.
After a moment, a young woman – half-ant – came out from the staff door. She had brown skin, big violet eyes, and medium-length straight brown hair. She wore leopard-print pants, a green T-shirt with a pink print I couldn't read, and a puffy vest with a white fur-trimmed hood that matched her skin tone.
"Eeeechoooo!" she shouted joyfully. She ran up to her and hugged her. "Who did you bring me?" she asked, looking at us, then pulled out the fourth chair and sat with us.
"This is Lumi and Asael. Lumi's my buddy from my old hero team, who left because he didn't want to kill insectoids, and Asael is a moth he saved from death, and…"
"Aaah! Too bad he got himself such a cutie, he's quite handsome, and has a good heart too. You got lucky there," she said, turning to me with a smile.
I felt her eyes on me, especially on my double wings, which made me a little uneasy, but…
…there wasn't a single hint of negativity in her gaze.
"Oh, sorry, I didn't introduce myself! I'm Bei, head of the secret government. Echo saved my two precious daughters, so I trust her completely, haha," she said, extending her hand.
I shook it slowly and nervously.
"H-Head of the…? Shouldn't you… you know, stay hidden more?" Lumi asked, shocked.
"Oh, how sensible! I like this thoughtful knight already, hehe," she said warmly. "It's not that simple. You see, Lumi… I'm a hero's kid from outside marriage, one of the heroes who fought the insectoids. He killed my siblings, but my mom managed to save me. I'm probably one of the few, if not the only, insectoids with superhero powers. Which means I also have to act on the battlefield, you get what I mean, right?" She smiled widely, as if it was nothing.
I couldn't believe she was talking about something so serious like it didn't matter. Lumi looked shocked, staring at Bei in disbelief. I looked at my feet, wondering which hero could be cruel enough to do something like that. On one hand, I wasn't surprised - humans had done plenty of bad things to me – but… it was still hard to wrap my head around it.
Could it be that some humans think even innocent, related insectoids deserve nothing but death?
"When I was saving a group of cute little beetle-people in another part of the city, someone attacked my beloved daughters. Luckily, Echo was there."
"I can't believe you're the daughter of a hero. Echo, do we know him?" Lumi asked, surprised.
"Oh, you definitely won't learn that from her. And not from me either – it's too private," she added, smiling widely again.
After a short silence, Lumi and I exchanged a meaningful look, and Bei spoke again:
"Let me guess – Echo brought you here because you want to make the world better, right?"
"Exactly! Lumi's someone you can really trust," Echo said, grinning.
"Alright, let's cut to the chase. Oh, and the pizza and drinks are on me since it's my place," she added with a big smile.